Nylon-11 is widely used for industrial and automotive flexible hose applications because it has very low moisture absorption and can be readily plasticized. However, in many flexible hose applications a nylon-11 base tube is employed which requires reinforcement therearound and such reinforcement is usually in the form of braided reinforcing layers disposed around such base tube.
However, it is very difficult to adhere nylon-11 to itself or to other materials used to make the braided reinforcing layers, for example, without special heat or chemical treatment of adjoining surfaces. One treatment which has been used in the past is use of a heated resorcinol water solution which serves to plasticize the nylon-11 to allow adherence of a braided reinforcing layer thereagainst. Another treatment which has been used is to use a special solvent on the nylon-11 together with a special adhesive.
However, any special treatment of the nylon-11 base tube or of material used in defining a braided reinforcing layer around such base tube results in increasing the overall cost of the hose construction.